World

It’s a new dawn in the southeast Asian nation of Myanmar. The Burmese people are waking up to a new reality. For many a Myanma, it still feels like the dream they so closely cherished in their hearts, a dream where their nation undergoes a transformation from a total military dictatorship to a totally democratic country. But, the undeniable fact is that the Burmese people have been finally granted their most desired wish- A government, of the people, for the people and by the people. For them, the last part is what they wanted the most from this much-heard definition of Democracy- By The People.

The election results have been officially announced. In what many analysts term as a major political milestone, civilian leaders, including Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, have successfully won the elections and have replaced the generals who have been governing the nation for more than a half-century.
The outgoing president, ex-general U Thein Sein, has formally relinquished his post and welcomed his successor, U Htin Kyaw. Under U Thein Sein’s five year rule, the military dictatorship had taken the first few steps towards democracy, forming almost a hybrid system of government.

One of the greatest disappointments, however, was the fact that political activist Aung San Suu Kyi was denied the chance to head the fledgling democracy. She had been barred from assuming the post of President as the law in Myanmar clearly states that Myanmar’s having a spouse or children of Foreign nationality, cannot become the head of the nation. Many people around the world have termed this as being unjust as the 70-year-old Suu Kyi had spent more than half of her life under house arrest while demanding the expulsion of the military government.

On the other hand, Suu Kyi herself is wasting no time and is instead busy sculpting a challenging role as a “Super Minister”. In charge of four portfolios: education, foreign affairs, energy and the president’s office, she has no plans to indulge in a Game Of Thrones.

A startling and totally unexpected announcement right at the start of The COP21 World Climate Change Conference, the 12-day climate-change summit that was held in Le Bourget, Paris, has added a much needed financial boost to the environment-saving measures being adopted by many countries in the world today. The summit saw delegates from nearly 200 countries as well as many famous business-philanthropists.

The summit also had the presence of powerful world leaders like Barack Obama.

Here, 28 of these billionaires went on to prove that it’s not just their pockets that are full, but so are their hearts. These industry innovators, some of whom have been pioneers in science, technology and business, have decided to give a part of their wealth back to the world. Together, and with the support of 20 countries, they have announced their full support for Mission Innovation. At the summit, Bill Gates led the announcement that they were joining hands to combat climate change by forming a new partnership called the Breakthrough Energy Coalition.

This consortium hopes to steer more private capital into clean energy research and deployment. By pledging a part of their wealth to this cause, they have paved the way for a boost in the annual spending on clean energy implementation efforts worldwide.

Hopefully, this partnership between the Government and Billionaires will lead to a better, cleaner and healthier Planet Earth.

For 35 years, China had been a staunch advocate and ruthless enforcer of one of the world’s most controversial family-planning policies of all time. The One-Child Policy was the crown jewel of China’s communist government. But now, the Chinese Government has decided to revise its policy. They have changed it to a Two-Child Policy, effective from 1st January 2016. This change in policy has left many hailing it as the “end of an era”.

A Bit Of History
China saw an enormous surge in population during the ‘70s. This massive increase had the potential to deplete the natural resources of China. Imagine a country, through which great rivers constantly flow, facing a severe water crisis in the future, caused not by drought, but by a flood of people! The Chinese Government sought to change this bleak future, and thus the Family Planning Policy was officially adopted in 1979. The plan restricted families from having more than one child. Provincial governments imposed fines for violations by collecting a penalty in the form of the “social child-raising fee” from both parents.

Why The Change?
Well, for starters, there’s the social impact. Parents traditionally preferred boys to girls, so the sex-ratio ended up getting skewed. As there was only one child, many Chinese families over-indulged and spoilt them. Also, the burden of looking after the elderly parents and even grandparents fell up the shoulders of these single children. Then, natural calamities, like the 2008 Sichuan earthquake, and other disasters robbed many families living in those areas of their sole heirs.

The One-Child Policy has left a mark even in the Chinese economy. Today, China faces a shortage of a young workforce as well as young consumers. The older generation vastly outnumbers the younger one. This has brought about a drastic change in the economy resulting in the formulation of radical economic policies, such as this one.

Thought the two-child norm will not bring about immediate changes, it will definitely have a positive impact in the long-run.